Marissa is a busy person, to do all her regular stuff and "just step into this for a while to take over".

Ya, no kidding...no wonder she gets paid the big bucks!

[Thanks for commenting, but signature removed... -Philipp]

3 things spring to mind with this news,

Has the product release been postponed like all the other Google products that people are very interested in (Gdrive, for example).

Marissa is indeed a busy person.

And, gees, how many people are leaving Google? Sounds awfully Yahoo!-esque.

He used a prized recruit from MS in 2005 or so. Now, blah!!

Just back from the International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam, where Google had stand (that was rather difficult to find). They were there to answer the question what Google means to radio, but seem to have a very strange idea of the radio landcape in Europe and have bought a very odd suite of companies to help them sell ads on the radio. Not everything that Google touches is golden. It requires passion and knowledge of the other media like audio and video – so far missing in what I see. I just hope they get into the archive business for audio and video.

I think Google should stick to Search and Ads.
Bad to hear about Adam, he might probably join HealthRevolution or WebMD?

Seems like most Google projects are frozen.

Or he might just buy some caribean island, enjoy the cocktails and do some non-profit stuff on his own on a low burner. And take a dip in his millions occasionally.

You work to life, not life to work after all. The idea of work/live balance is taking hold in california again, and you only have so much time.

[Moved from "Google health exec Adam Bosworth to leave company" – Tony]

   SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 11 (Reuters) – Adam Bosworth, a pioneering software developer and the executive in charge of Google's slow-to-materialise health-information push, has left the company to pursue other interests, Google said on Tuesday.

The Web search leader confirmed a report on the industry blog Search Engine Land that Bosworth, a vice president, had left the Mountain View, California-based company.

"Adam is a great talent and was instrumental in starting Google Health," Google Inc (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research) spokesman Steve Landon said in a statement. "He is now on vacation and has decided to pursue other opportunities after that."

http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=tnBusinessNews&storyID=2007-09-12T055013Z_01_N11466738_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESS-GOOGLE-HEALTH-DC.XML

[snipped & added link -Philipp]

Maybe it's similar to why the head of Google Video left. After the Youtube purchase, Google Video itself is slowly folding into Universal Search. Interesting that they haven't migrated its archives to Youtube. Figure with your department becoming redundant, you leave.

It is very possible that
a. Google is near to purchasing a health information company or
b. Google Health has been diminished/refocused drastically

Mind, this is all idle speculation to fill a slow day at work.

OK, I am not interested in the personality issues here. What does the Bosworth departure mean for GOOGLE's interest and abilites regarding a head on invasion into the Personal Electronic Health Record market? Talk amongst yourselves and speak up everyone. If GOOGLE is shifting into a buyout for this sector, who would they be likely to buy at this point? High interest in 'inside opinion" please!

Traces of Adam Bosworth have now been removed from the Google Management information (http://www.google.com/corporate/execs.html) & press images pages.

For reference, this was the bio:

<<Adam Bosworth
Vice President

As a Vice President of Engineering, Adam oversees a variety of technology initiatives. He was previously a Vice President at BEA Systems, where he was responsible for the engineering efforts in BEA's Framework Division. Prior to joining BEA, Adam co-founded Crossgain, a software development firm acquired by BEA in 2001; Crossgain's "Cajun" project developed into BEA's WebLogic Workshop.

Known as one of the pioneers of XML, Adam previously held various senior management positions at Microsoft, including General Manager of the WebData group, a team focused on defining and driving XML strategy. While at Microsoft, he was responsible for assembling and driving the team that developed Internet Explorer 4.0's HTML engine (codenamed 'Trident'). These two efforts in conjunction delivered the technology known, today, as Ajax. Before that he was responsible for designing and delivering the Microsoft Access PC database product.

Prior to Microsoft, Adam worked for Borland where he developed the Quattro spreadsheet application following Borland's acquisition of Analytica in 1985, a company founded by Adam and Eric Michelman, and managed by Brad Silverberg.

On December 10th, 2003 he was awarded the prestigious XML Cup [ http://xml.coverpages.org/XMLCup2003.html] for his efforts in making XML a successful Internet standard. Adam received a bachelor's degree in History from Harvard University.>>

Sorry, Michael. While Googlers DO read this forum, I doubt it gets many leaks. Although I was also trying to steer the discussion toward what his departure means for Google Health, no one seems to know.

I know I'm repeating myself, but it is very possible that
a. Google is near to purchasing a health information company. Given Google's recent history, this is most likely. Google will inherit all the original company's effort that went into ensuring compliance with local laws. They will also have an existing product to improve and build on, rather than starting from scratch.

b. Google Health has been diminished/refocused drastically. I doubt this, as they have made way too many public proclamations about their efforts to improve how people manage their own health information. Google sounded way too sincerely passionate (in as much as a corporation has emotions) about this – at least for America.

c. Google Health is going as planned, but they are having trouble building partnerships within the health care industry. There may also be trouble with federal or local laws in the countries they plan on deploying Google Health in.

How about
d. Adam thinks he has successfully set the groundwork for this, both in terms of lobbying and the technical framework, so the program is close to launch, and others can take over now?

(Not saying that d is likely, just throwing it out there!)

Maybe he goes to Facebook:
http://valleywag.com/tech/rumormonger/adam-bosworth-going-to-facebook-300165.php